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Merrill Moses retrieves the ball in the men's water polo quarterfinal match between Croatia and the United States at the London 2012 Olympic Games at Water Polo Arena on Aug. 8, 2012 in London, England.

It’s the beginning of a big couple weeks in the water as the 15th FINA World Championships kick off in Barcelona, Spain, featuring the world’s best swimmers, divers, synchronized swimmers, and water polo players. This weekend also features the 2013 IPC Athletics World Championships, Gold Cup soccer, taekwondo world championships as well as major events in triathlon, archery, wrestling and more. Check out the Team USA Weekend Preview for all of the information.

SWIMMING AND DIVING

15th FINA World Championships, July 19-Aug. 4, Barcelona, Spain

Diving: Kristian Ipsen, a bronze medalist at the London 2012 Olympic Games, and Harrison Jones, will help start the competition for the USA Diving National Team Saturday at the FINA World Championships in Barcelona. Also competing Saturday will be the women’s 3-meter synchronized diving team of Amanda Burke and Samantha Pickens.

Ipsen and Jones will dive in the preliminary round of the 1-meter springboard. The finals are Monday. David Bonuchi and Toby Stanley will compete in the 10-meter men’s synchro on Saturday, and Murphy Bromberg and Cheyenne Cousineau will be in the 10-meter women’s synchro Sunday.

The diving events continue through July 28.

TV: 7 p.m.-8 p.m. ET Saturday and Sunday, Universal Sports

Synchronized swimming: Mary Killman, a 2012 Olympian, will compete in the technical solo synchronized swimming event Saturday. The prelims and finals are both Saturday. Rebecca Moody will take part in the free solo, which begins with the prelims Monday and concludes with the finals Wednesday.

Killman finished 11th at the London 2012 Olympic Games with Mariya Koroleva in the duet. She won gold at the 2013 SwimOutlet.com U.S. National Championships and U.S. Collegiate Championships.

TV: 8 p.m.-9 p.m. ET Saturday, Universal Sports

Open water: Olympic silver medalist Haley Anderson and 2011 world championship Andrew Gemmell will be among the U.S. open-water swimmers competing in Saturday’s women’s and men’s 5-kilometer races. Anderson won silver in London. Becca Mann and 2010 world champion Eva Fabian will join Anderson in the women’s 5k. Sean Ryan will be in the men’s race.

Water polo: The U.S. women’s national team will begin the water polo world championships Sunday, when it meets Greece in the preliminary round. The United States defeated Greece, 11-7, earlier this week in the Dutch Trophy in the Netherlands. Eight members of the U.S. team that will compete in Barcelona were members of the American team that captured the gold medal last summer in London. The men’s national team, featuring seven players from the 2012 Olympic squad, will begin play in the preliminary round Monday against Croatia. Tony Azevedo will represent the United States in his seventh FINA World Championships.

TAEKWONDO

WTF World Taekwondo Championships, July 15-21, Puebla, Mexico

Olympians Diana and Steven Lopez will compete for podium finishes Sunday at the WTF World Taekwondo Championships in Mexico. Diana will compete in the women’s lightweight division and her brother, Steven, will compete in the men’s welterweight division. Another Lopez family member, Olympic silver medalist Mark Lopez, lost a first-round bout in men’s lightweight Tuesday.

Also competing for the U.S. will be Nicole Palma (women’s feather) and Olie Burton (men’s bantam) on Saturday, and Lauren Hamon (women’s middleweight), Jason Neville (men’s middleweight) and Abel Valdivia (men’s heavyweight) on Friday. The United States had a 10-9 record through matches Thursday.

SOCCER

Gold Cup, U.S. Men’s National Team vs. El Salvador, July 21, Baltimore

After winning its group in preliminary round play of the CONCACAF Gold Cup, the U.S. Men’s National Team will look to extend its record win streak to nine Sunday against El Salvador in the Gold Cup quarterfinals. The game will be played at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore.

“We are playing for a championship,” U.S. team captain Damarcus Beasley said. “This is something that we can achieve as a group, a chance for these 23 guys to do something special as a team together. The guys know that. We have some young guys, some inexperienced guys, and guys getting their first caps and first goals. For us, it’s a group that has a lot of potential.”

U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann added four players to the U.S. roster in preparation for the single-elimination phase of the Gold Cup: defenders Matt Besler and Omar Gonzalez, and forwards Alan Gordon and Eddie Johnson. Out are: Oguchi Onyewu (ankle injury), Herculez Gomez (knee), Corey Ashe and forward Jack McInerney, who was returned to the Philadelphia Union of the MLS.

TV: 4 p.m. ET Sunday, Fox, Univision

TRACK AND FIELD

Diamond League, Herculis 2013, July 19, Monaco

Carmelita Jeter, a three-time medalist at the London 2012 Olympic Games, headlines a 200-meter women’s field that was also to include four other Americans at Friday’s Diamond League meet in Monaco. Joining Jeter in the 200 were Tiffany Townsend, Kimberlyn Duncan, Jeneba Tarmoh and Charonda Williams. Other U.S. athletes in the Herculis 2013 meet include Olympic triple jump champion Christian Taylor and two-time Olympian Justin Gatlin in the men’s 100.

TV: 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. ET Friday, Universal Sports

PARALYMPIC TRACK & FIELD

IPC Athletics World Championships, July 19-28, Lyon, France

Rob Brown, a sergeant in the U.S. Army, will be the flag-bearer for Team USA at Friday’s Opening Ceremony of the IPC Athletes World Championships in Lyon, France. Brown is one of two U.S. active duty military members and 76 U.S. athletes overall taking part in the worlds. Brown, a part of the Army World Class Athlete Program, is a 2016 Paralympics Games hopeful.

USA Wrestling at international tournament, July 20-21, Olympia, Greece

Olympians Elena Pirozhkova and Ellis Coleman are among a select group of nine U.S. wrestlers who will compete Saturday and Sunday in an international tournament on the hallowed grounds of the birthplace of the Olympic Movement. The wrestlers will walk the grounds of the Ancient Olympia in a tour, then compete at the International Olympic Academy. Coleman will wrestle in both men’s freestyle and Greco-Roman.

The tournament is being held in conjunction with FILA’s Save Olympic Wrestling campaign. Other nations with wrestlers in the tournament include Greece, Great Britain, Germany, Brazil, Russia, Iran and Albania. The preliminary rounds will be Saturday, followed by the championship matches Sunday.

“I go to Greece a lot to visit family, but we go straight to the islands,” said U.S. women’s freestyle wrestler Helen Maroulis, a world silver medalist who has family ties to Greece. “I found out we are going to the mainland, to the big city and I’ve always wanted to wrestle in Greece. I am excited to experience wrestling in that country.”

Gwen Jorgensen, a 2012 Olympian who is ranked No. 3 in the ITU World Triathlon Series standings, leads a group of 11 U.S. elite athletes Saturday and Sunday at the World Triathlon Series stop in Hamburg, Germany. Competing alongside Jorgensen in the women’s race Saturday will be Sarah Groff, Kaitlin Donner, Erin Jones and Katie Hursey, who won the World Cup event last week in Palamos, Spain. Matt Chrabot, Joe Maloy and Greg Billington are entered in the men’s race.

USA Archery athletes will shoot for gold medals in three of four disciplines Friday at the Medellin World Cup. Miranda Leek, a 2012 Olympian, is in the championship match in women’s recurve. The men’s compound final will feature an all-American matchup between Reo Wilde and Braden Gellenthien. Erika Jones is in the women’s compound final.

Two-time Olympian Brady Ellison led the qualifying in men’s recurve, but lost in the quarterfinals of the elimination round.

JUDO

IJF Grand Slam, July 20-21, Moscow

Olympian Nick Delpopolo will represent the United States at an IJF Grand Slam tournament on Saturday and Sunday in Moscow. He won gold earlier this year at the Pan American Championships.

Georgia Gould, a bronze medalist at the London 2012 Olympic Games, is among three U.S. 2012 Olympians competing this week at the USA Cycling Cross-Country Mountain Bike National Championships. Gould is the defending women’s champion and she’ll be joined by Olympic teammate Lea Davison in the pro women’s race. Davison won last week’s Subaru Cup in Mt. Morris, Wis., and took the standings lead in the USA Cycling Pro XCT.

Olympic teammates Sam Schultz and Todd Wells are among the contenders in the pro men’s race. Schultz is defending champion and Wells leads the USA Cycling Pro XCT men’s standings. Other top men cyclists include Michael Broderick, Carl Decker and Stephen Ettinger.

Both pro races will be held Saturday on a course at Bear Creek Mountain Resort in Macungie, Pa. The U23 races are scheduled for Friday. Stars-and-Stripes jerseys Thursday went to Jason Blodgett, men’s 19-29; Nic Jenkins, junior men 10-14; and Brandon Gritters, men’s 30-and-up.

Canadian Open Fastpitch International Championships, July 16-22, Surrey, B.C., Canada

The USA Softball Women’s National Team will seek to finish preliminary play undefeated when it faces host Canada on Friday night in the Canadian Open Fastpitch International Championships. Team USA won its first four games, including A 5-4 victory against Australia and an 8-1 win against Venezuela Thursday.

The United States, ranked No. 2 in the world, also knocked off top-ranked Japan, 10-3, Wednesday. Amber Freeman delivered the knockout blow with a grand slam. Japan had won the World Cup of Softball last week by defeating Team USA twice in Oklahoma City, Okla.

Zach Lokken advanced to Friday’s semifinals of the men’s canoe competition at the ICF Under-23/Junior Slalom World Championships with a ranking of 18 following Thursday’s heats. The top 30 places advanced.

Also reaching the semifinals were Michal Smolen in U-23 kayak, Cole Moore in junior kayak, and Gabe Machado and Will Coggan in junior C-2 canoe. Smolen, a fifth-place finisher at last year’s worlds at age 18, was ranked first after Wednesday’s heats.

FIBA U19 World Championship for Women, July 18-28, Klaipeda and Panevezys, Lithuania

Breanna Stewart, a freshman at the University of Connecticut, scored 26 points Thursday night to lead the USA Basketball U19 World Championship Team to a 113-47 victory over host Lithuania. It was Team USA’s opening game in the FIBA U19 World Championship for Women.

The United States, four-time defending U19 gold medalist, will play China on Friday and Mali on Saturday to finish out the preliminary round. The second round of play begins Monday.

BASEBALL

USA Baseball Collegiate National Team vs. Cuba, July 18-23, various locations

A run-scoring single delivered by Cal State Fullerton’s Matt Chapman in the 11th inning Thursday night gave the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team a 2-1 victory over Cuba in the first game of their international friendly series. The opener was played in Des Moines, Iowa.

“It’s always exciting to beat Cuba,” Chapman said. “We might be the underdogs because we are younger, but it’s just fun to contribute and help my team out.”

The five-game series continues Friday and Saturday at Werner Park in Omaha, Neb. The teams will also play Monday at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, N.C., and Tuesday at Durham Bulls Athletic Park in Durham, N.C.

IBF U12 World Cup, July 18-28, Taipei City, Chinese Taipei

Evan Godwin, Kevin Martin and Garrett McMillan combined for a four-inning, no-hitter in a 20-0 win by the USA Baseball 12U National Team over Pakistan in the IBF U12 World Cup. The United States has won its first two games and will face Venezuela on Sunday.

The U.S. Women’s National Volleyball Team, ranked No. 1 in the world, will conduct a Red-Blue intrasquad scrimmage Friday night at Harvard Westlake Upper School in Studio City, Calif. The match is open to the public. The team is preparing for the FIVB World Grand Prix, set for Aug. 2-18 with the finals to take place in Sapporo, Japan.

EQUESTRIAN

Adequan/FEI North American Junior & Young Rider Championships, July 17-21, Lexington, Ky.

Lillie Keenan, Mattias Tromp, Michael Hughes and Gabrielle Bausano combined to win a gold medal in the jumping team competition Thursday at the Adequan/FEI North American Junior and Young Rider Championships. They compete for Zone 2, which won gold in two competitions Thursday. Mathew Verser and James Michael Phillips won gold in reining.

The competition, which continues through Sunday at Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, includes dressage, jumping, eventing, reining and endurance in both team and individual categories. Most of the individual championships will be determined Saturday and Sunday.

Dana Rohde is the leader entering Friday’s final day of competition in the U.S. Junior Women’s Singlehanded Championship. The racing is being held on Buzzards Bay and hosted by the Beverly Yacht Club of Marion, Mass. Rohde won four of the event’s first six races.

Also in sailing:

Nacra World Championship, July 20-28, The Hague, Netherlands

ISAF Youth Sailing World Championship, July 11-20, Limassol, Cyprus

RUGBY

U20 Nations Cup, July 11-21, Nottingham, England

The USA Rugby AIG Women’s Junior All-Americans squad will play Canada Sunday for the championship of the U20 Nations Cup in England. The United States won a berth in the title game with a 27-17 win Thursday against host England.

Jordan Gray of Brigham Young University had two tries in the victory over England and Anne Peterson of Washington State University had three conversions.

CURLING

Arena National Championships, July 18-21, Fort Wayne, Ind.

The inaugural Arena National Championships for curling began Thursday at Canlan Ice Sports Arena in Fort Wayne, Ind. The competition features 19 men’s and 13 women’s teams.

SQUASH

World Junior Championships, July 15-27, Wroclaw, Poland

Sabrina Sobhy reached Friday’s quarterfinal round of the girls’ tournament at the World Junior Championships in Wroclaw, Poland. She was to face Egypt’s Habiba Mohamed after defeating Nada Elkalaawy of England Thursday. The semifinals are scheduled for Saturday, followed by the finals Sunday. Dylan Murray of the United States was to face Lucas Wirths of Germany in the boys’ plate bracket. The team tournaments begin Monday.

The nation’s most promising young beach volleyball players will compete through Sunday in the USA Volleyball Beach High Performance Championships in Hermosa Beach, Calif. The tournament is split into five age groups: University 26-and-under, Junior U21, Youth U19, Select U17 and Future Select U15.

Nick Kruml of Downers Grove, Ill., and Lizabeth Kuhlkin of Rotterdam, N.Y., were the U20 leaders after three rounds of the North Pointe Junior Gold Championships. The tournament, which had a field of more than 2,000 bowlers, concludes Friday.

The top two women and men in the qualifying portion of the 20-and-under division automatically win spots on the U.S. Junior National Team. Another four spots will be awarded by the National Selection Committee following Friday’s match play. The remaining eight spots for Junior Team USA will be determined in January 2014 at the USBC Team USA Trials.

Also in bowling:

U.S. Open, July 21-27, Columbus, Ohio

BADMINTON

Pan Am Junior Championships, July 21-28, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

Team competition in the Badminton Pan Am Junior Championships begins Sunday in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. The U.S. Under-19 team includes Alan Shekhtman, William Cheung, Aston Khor and Nicholas Waller on the men’s squad, and Anna Tang, Cherie Chow, Christine Yang and Stephanie Lam on the women’s squad. In all, 61 U.S. athletes are competing in team and individual events, ranging from U-19 to U-11.

ROLLER SPORTS

Speed Skating National Championships, July 13-20, Albuquerque, N.M.

Competition in the Speed Skating National Championships continues through Saturday at the Albuquerque Convention Center.

Michael Levy and Jordan Nolff are among seven U.S. men gymnasts competing in the Maccabiah Games in Israel. The international Jewish competition, which is held every four years, features more than 7,000 athletes from over 50 nations.

Story courtesy Red Line Editorial, Inc. Paul D. Bowker is a freelance contributor for TeamUSA.org. This story was not subject to the approval of any National Governing Bodies.